Don't let my retainer get me down

December 27, 2007 3:04 PM

How do I work "on retainer" without screwing myself or making my client unhappy?

While looking for a permanent job, I've been maintaining a rather unstable existence as a freelance writer and editor, doing just about anything and everything. One of my clients, a marketing agency, really liked my work on a project I did for them and has told me they would like to put me on retainer. I'm assuming they are using the standard definition of retainer, namely: a set fee per month that guarantees that I will be available to them a certain number of hours per month or week.

Of course I'd love any kind of stable source of income, and I also like working with this group of people. However, I'm worried about the potential for mission creep. I'm also so new to freelancing that I don't know much about these types of arrangements.

I assume retainer contracts are based on a certain amount of money for a certain number of hours of my time per week, with a discount on my normal fee for "buying in bulk." What is a reasonable discount? I was thinking 15% but have no sense if this is unreasonable or abnormal.

I'm also concerned about what happens if I work more than the specified hours per week or per month. Should I ask for the additional hours to be assessed on the basis of my regular hourly fee, without the discount?

What happens if I work fewer hours? I'm assuming that with a standard retainer the fee is the same no matter how many hours I work.

Finally, do any of you fellow freelancers have a sample contract I could look at to get a sense of what terms will be up for discussion?

And of course please tell me every single thing you have to say about working on retainer.

posted by foxy_hedgehog to work & money (4 comments total)

I think it's most common for the retainer to pay for a relatively small amount of work per month, with any work above that billed at your usual rate. The retainer also guarantees that you'll be available to work for them for a certain number of hours per month (possibly the same number of hours that the retainer pays for, possibly more). I once had a client put me (via my employer) on retainer for X hours of availability, with all actual work billed in addition. Free money! :)

AIUI, the advantage of the retainer is not only "buying hours in bulk", it's also negotiating contracts "in bulk". If they have thirty minutes of work for you, they can hand it over to you and rely on its getting done to your usual standard for your usual fee, without having to spend multiple man-hours working out a contract, vetting any unusual legal terms, worrying about whether they'll like your work, and so on. This benefits both of you. You might also offer a smaller minimum billing period for work on retainer (since you'll spend less time getting up to speed on it).

If I were you, I'd familiarize myself with common practice in your industry (perhaps by asking on Ask.MeFi :) — I'm not in your industry, though) and then go to your client and say, "I haven't worked on retainer before. What terms do you propose?" and go from there.
posted by hattifattener at 3:32 PM on December 27, 2007

Thanks, hattifattener. Keep 'em coming...
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 5:41 PM on December 27, 2007

I don't have the answer for you, but I have a good link for writers: http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/

They post daily writing jobs and the author of that blog could probably give you some really good tips if they aren't already posted somewhere on the site.
posted by 45moore45 at 6:03 PM on December 27, 2007

Congratulations on finding a good client who wants to become a regular client.

While I haven't worked on retainer, I do work as a business writer. (My projects tend to last 1-3 months, so the project itself is sort of a retainer.) The one time I discussed a retainer, it was the client's idea, and they didn't mention a discount. They just wanted to guarantee my availability.

Two virtual assistants I've talked to do use a discount for the retainer. If I remember right, it was a smallish discount, so your 15% idea seems in the ballpark.

However, I wouldn't offer a discount. First find out how many hours the client wants and see if they bring up a discount. Their main interest is probably in guaranteeing your availability, not getting a price cut. It's hard to find good writers and editors, so now that they've found you, they want to hang on to you.

The way the VAs did it, the client pays the retainer in advance. They pay the retainer every month whether the VA uses all their hours or not. Nothing rolls over. If the VA works beyond the allotted hours, they charge by the hour at their usual rate. If I remember right, they invoice monthly, so at the end of the month they invoice for extra hours worked that month plus the following month's retainer.

I'm assuming you charge the same rate for all your work, whether you're writing or editing. (If you're not charging the same rate, you should!) As you work, keep track of the # of hours you spend, and at the end of the month, if you've gone over the retainer, bill the client for it.

Since you're new to freelancing, you might get some use out of the Freelance Writers' Guide by the National Writers Union. The Writers Market annual publication (ask a reference librarian) has current info on fees and such.
posted by PatoPata at 8:26 PM on December 27, 2007